Deer Hunters Set Near-record Harvest In 1993-94

April 05, 1994|by TOM FEGELY, The Morning Call

Considering the harshness of the winter of 1993-94 on deer in many areas of the state, word of a near-record harvest last season is good news.

Harvest figures announced by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) last week shows sign of a healthy herd and underscores the effectiveness of the new doe licensing system instituted last fall. The culling by hunters also provided Mother Nature with a minimum of casualties over the past few months. A low harvest would have accounted for more deer entering the season of snow and cold, competing with one another for available food.

Hunters last year harvested 408,557 whitetails -- the second highest kill on record. Only the 415,561 deer shot by Pennsylvania hunters in 1990 surpasses it.

The state's million-plus whitetail hunters took 165,214 bucks and 243,343 antlerless deer over the 1993-94 hunting calendar. The buck harvest ranks third (170,010 were taken in 1990 and 169,795 recorded in 1989) of all time with the doe kill second (topped by the 1990 harvest of 245,460).

Keep in mind that commission statisticians base their estimates on big game report cards sent in by hunters. The number of cards received is then factored by known reporting rates and other data from field reports.

"Among other things, the most recent buck harvest points to better over-winter survival," said Bill Shope, a PGC deer biologist.

Shope said the 1992-93 harvest was lower than anticipated due to deep snows covering much of the state the last few days of buck season and into the doe season. The depths, particularly in the mountainous "big woods" country, limited hunter access and movement. As a result, that year's kill was lower than anticipated.

But last year the harvest was higher than the PGC's forecast.

In 1993, for the first time, all hunters (except muzzleloaders) were required to purchase separate county doe tags. In previous years archers had the choice of filling their regular tags with either a buck or doe, ending their hunting time, and gun hunters who harvested bucks could not use their doe licenses.

All that changed last season, offering more hunters the chance at two or more deer. Successful buck hunters were permitted to use their doe tags and archers holding valid county licenses could take bucks on their regular tags and use their doe tags for antlerless deer.

Add to that expanded hunting opportunities on deer-damage farmlands and an increase (to 16 counties) in places where antlerless deer could be taken on designated lands during buck season.

In the doe department, Warren ranked first with 10,790 followed by Bradford (8,258), Crawford (7,858), Clearfield (7,799) and McKean (7,458).

Locally, Berks County topped the list with 3,162 bucks and 5,201 antlerless kills. Schuylkill County followed close behind (3,098 bucks and 4,993 antlerless) with Bucks County hunters tagging 1,317 bucks and 3,585 antlerless whitetails.

Prior to the 1993-94 season, the commission projected harvests of 150,000 bucks and 195,000-235,000 antlerless deer. Both figures were surpassed, indicating a conservative pre-season population estimate.

Last year, for the first time ever, the state's entire allocation of 748,000 doe licenses was sold out. It's expected the board of game commissioners, meeting in Harrisburg yesterday and today, will approve tentative antlerless deer licenses quotas for each county for the 1994-95 season. However, depending on the information yielded by mortality surveys in all counties, the agency will probably retain the right to make adjustments to the numbers prior to August 1, when doe tag applications will be accepted.

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Middle Creek series -- Wildlife biologist Gary Alt of the Pennsylvania Game Commission will present his popular slide show -- "Pennsylvania's Black Bear" -- tomorrow and Thursday at the Middle Creek Visitor Center.

The center is located in the wildlife management area near Kleinfeltersville, on the Lancaster-Lebanon counties line.

The program is the first in the game commission's annual Wildlife Program series continuing through Sept. 21. "Field Research of a Wildlife Artist" with Ken Hunter is scheduled for April 20 and 21 followed by "The Magic of Deer Antlers" with PGC Land Manager Dave Koppenhaver on May 4 and 5.

All presentations are open to the public for free. Each begins at 7:30 p.m.

Cable subscribers may also want to mark their calendars for April 24 at 9 p.m. when Alt will be featured on a National Geographic Explorer special on TBS Superstation -- carried by most local cable companies.

The program, titled "Grin and Bear It," features the biologist's work in the Poconos, specifically at the Hemlock Farms housing development in Pike County.